What if Teachers Ran Schools Instead of Administrators?

[The Straight Story]

What if Teachers Ran Schools Instead of Administrators?


Waiting for “Superman”, a documentary currently angling for an Academy Award nomination, puts much of the blame for the poor state of education in the United States on bad teachers and on teacher unions. But it’s possible that teachers could be more of the solution than the problem.

Using a cooperative model similar to those utilized by doctors and lawyers, educators have banded together in select locations around the country to form teacher-run schools. The idea was born in Henderson, Minnesota, in 1994, where Minnesota New Country School was established. In time, a cooperative called Edvisions was set up which has helped form a total of 12 teacher-run schools in the state, and 35 more around the country. Edvisions schools feature no principals, more generalists than specialists among instructors and peer review when it comes to grading teacher performance.

http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/What_if_Teachers_Ran_Schools_Instead_of_Administrators_110104

[stray cat]

1. There are some that have done it - how are they doing?

[dkf]

2. aka Charter schools.

Charter schools are run by whoever gets the charter. It can be done by a for profit entity or not. Charter schools are simply the only option to the traditional administrator run school.

[Igel]

3. The first year would be different.

Depending on the teachers, it would be a disaster or great.

The second year would like like the rule of the administrators, as all the teachers were suddenly put under the gun at the end of the first year: "Why didn't my kid improve his abilities? Why did he get this grade? I want to know why you, principal, have screwed up--off with your head."

In the second year all the teachers will be required to present the paperwork that shows that the administrator isn't at fault--which was, actually, claimed to be the reason the teachers didn't teach in the first place. The administrator-teacher's dicta will be obligatory until they're banned: "Your room is too cluttered to concentrate. Remove everything." Two weeks later: "Your walls are bare, it looks sterile and inhospital. Put stuff up." A month later: "Why did you make holes in the walls, my budget has to cover those. Take the stuff down." A month later: "Didn't I tell you two months ago to put stuff up?"

There will be demands to stick to best practices predicted to eventually codify research once said has been discredited. "Having students tap dance while waving morris fans as they recite e.e. cummings is a superior way to provide an aestheto-tactile kineseo-athletic componential factor to instructionally contentful pre- and post-content, potentially providing increased differentially attentuated adrenal and amygdalic stimulation to the superior basal ganglia in 1 out of 300 left-handed cat-lovers per Smith, Croakley, Ahmed and Milk, unpublished mss dated earlier this morning and expected to be accepted for review by the Lesser Higher Educational Agricultural Dance Journal of Western East Milford. Since this will have been shown to increase a posteriori pre-understanding of the quadratic equation in later mss, you will implement this regime in your AP Calculus class later today. We must keep up with current research." "Yes, Ms. Croakley. How are your husband, Mr. Smith and his new boyfriend, Mr. Ahmed, supplier of morris fans, doing these days? Is your cat, Mr. Milk, well?"

Eh. Oddly, there are a lot of ACP programs for principals which assume that the applicant are usually teachers. Many of the public schools around here have ex-teachers as administrators--and since administrator is usually a full-time job, few teachers become administrators remain teachers.

[immoderate]

4. I taught in such a school in 1989.

This is part of a much larger story, but I was part of a group of teachers that formed a "mini-school" based on a theme of social action and community service. The mini-school plan was an idea I came up with to organize a large middle school building that had become difficult to control. Create three autonomous themed sub-schools, each to it's own floor, with closer teacher-student relationships. We were given tremendous support in creating the new schools. For instance all our teachers got a crash course, tailored for us, from the Coro Foundation, which teaches public service.

Our school was extremely successful, with happy students, teachers, and parents, and there was its downfall. We got a reputation of success with difficult students, so the district sent us their worst problems. Then the funding that was used to develop and sustain the school, went to newer projects. We lost some young, very dynamic teachers. They cut our excellent special ed teacher, but continued to send special ed students. Our director, elected by the teachers, one of the designers and founders, and an excellent leader, was so outstanding she was offered a principalship in a large traditional school after one year, a huge promotion, but a catastrophe for us.

I had to jump to another school, as my number was coming up. But I heartily endorse the idea of teacher run schools. Not that I don't appreciate good administrators. The best have been immensely helpful.

--imm